Week 1 (Almost) Complete!

Wow! It’s hard to believe that my first week in Belize is already coming to an end, though the things I have learned have already impacted me more than I can say in my lifetime! After spending a few morning sessions in lecture, we were able to participate in various field activities that involved helping treat several kinds of livestock. Yesterday, we visited a dairy farm and got to see a California mastitis test used to see the medical condition that may otherwise go unnoticed. Then, we administered intramuscular black leg, rabies, deworming, and vitamin injections to a herd of meat cattle in order to prevent these diseases. Today, we also performed castrations on piglets of varying ages in order to prevent unwanted reproduction and prevent injury, which was incredibly interesting as we got to learn how to properly restrain them in doing so as well! Tomorrow, we are doing a free spay and neuter clinic for the local townspeople in San Antonio in order to help reduce the number of unwanted animals being born in the area, as well as prevent parasites through sub-cutaneous vaccinations. Can’t wait!

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